Friday, June 15, 2012

Putting on the Armor of God

Scripture: Ephesians 6:11 “Put on the whole amour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.”

Lesson:

Talk about things that protect us physically today. Seatbelts, football helmets, bike helmets, shin guards, etc. Then, talk about things that people wore to protect them in battle a long time ago. This could be armor for knights, armor from WWI, armor for Indians, etc.

Ask your family what battle we are fighting today. What has the Lord given us to protect us today?

Take turns reading D&C 27: 15-18. While you’re reading, write down the things we can do to protect ourselves from Satan and the pieces of armor the Lord describes.

Discuss each piece of armor with the help of the following explanations:

"Loins girt about with truth." Tell your family that to be "girt about" is to have a large belt around you, and that the "loins" are your many vital organs and the sacred procreative parts of your body.

"Breastplate of righteousness." Ask "What important organ does the breastplate cover?" (The heart.)

"Feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace." Ask your family how far they think they could walk without shoes compared to how far they could walk with shoes. Remind them that mortal life is like a long journey to a place we can't really see at this time.

"Shield of faith." Have your family look again at D&C 27:17 and identify what the shield specifically does. (Stop the fiery darts of the wicked.) Ask them why they think Satan's weapon is compared to a dart rather than a large tank or cannon. Invite them to give examples of how others (including Satan) have tried to get them to doubt the truths of the gospel. How has your faith helped you to overcome?

"Helmet of Salvation." A helmet of salvation shall guide our thinking all through our days. How would remembering Christ more regularly help us resist the influence the devil tries to have over us?

"Sword of my Spirit." Ask your family how the sword is different from the other pieces of armor listed. (It is a weapon rather than merely protection.) What are some ways we can receive God's word through the Spirit?

One day I was made an attractive offer by a group of marines, buddies of mine, as we were about to go on liberty. It wasn't until after we were on our way that I discovered this was not the best company to be in. It was then that I found out the reason they had invited me. It was because they knew of my standards. They knew that I would be sober when it was time to return to the base, and I could guide them back. We found ourselves in Los Angeles on a streetcar headed toward a dance hall. They had already started to drink a little, and I was ready to part their company. It was here that that protective shield took over and I knew of the prayers of my parents for my welfare. The streetcar stopped and allowed new passengers to come aboard. The new passengers separated me from my buddies and pushed me to the back of the car. It was there that I discovered a nice group of young people standing and seated. Immediately upon finding me in their company, one spoke up and said, "Hi, Marine! We're Mormons. What do you know about our Church?" I answered, "Plenty," and got off the streetcar with them and went to a ward social. You see, the shield of faith was there. It was protecting me from the fiery darts of the wicked in order that in a proper time in my life I would be worthy to take an angle into the temple of the Lord and there at its altar be sealed together for time and all eternity. I know be personal experience the value of having noble parents to build around their children a protective shield of faith of our Lord and our Savior Jesus Christ. I give you my witness that it works. Should not every child of God be given that opportunity in their lives--to start each day having their fathers blessing their home and giving them that protective shield of faith as they depart from the home to go about their every activity.

(L. Tom Perry, "Build Your Shield of Faith," Ensign, May 1974, 98)

Activity:

Create “Shields of Faith” with your children. You can cut the shape out of cardboard boxes. Cereal boxes work great. (they don’t need to be huge!)

Cover the shields with aluminum foil to make them look like real armor. Then, you can use markers or pens to write on them! (Permanent markers work best, but you should be able to use other markers; just be careful with your little ones!) Have them include things like their favorite scripture, things they are going to do to keep the faith, or pictures of the Temple/Church/etc.

Make sure you take a picture!!

***If it’s just you and your husband: make sure you have the discussion together, and then talk about experiences you had when you felt grateful for the Armor of God (like Elder Perry’s)

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